It is customary to transport goods and to store goods on pallets. Palletized goods are maintained in a position above the flooring which can be very advantageous in areas where there is flooding or where the condition of the flooring is either rough or of concern. Standard pallets are particularly useful in materials handling because forklift equipment can maneuver the pallets by inserting their forklift tines into channels provided by the pallet. Typically, pallets are constructed of wood. In the past, wooden pallets have provided advantages of economy, simplicity and durability, principally because of the lack of other suitable materials. However, wooden pallets are extremely heavy and require costly hand labor in their fabrication.
In the past decades, disposable pallets have been proposed and, with the growth of the plastics industry, a wide variety of plastics have been investigated to determine their suitability for use in producing pallets. Plastic pallets can easily be molded and are stronger and lighter in weight than wooden pallets; also, they can now be made with recyclable materials. Furthermore, plastic pallets are more durable than wooden pallets.
Recent plastic pallets that are light in weight, durable, capable of supporting heavy loads, easy to manufacture and have a minimum number of interchangeable parts are disclosed in Ser. No. 29/024,050, filed Jun. 7, 1994 for a PLASTIC PALLET ASSEMBLY, U.S. Pat. No. DES 347,511 for a TWO-PART INTERLOCKING PLASTIC PALLET, U.S. Pat. No. DES 346,681 for a TWO PART INTERLOCKING PLASTIC PALLET, U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,814 for a PLASTIC PALLET ASSEMBLY, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,395 for a PLASTIC PALLET WITH DECK ASSEMBLY, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,976 for a PLASTIC PALLET. The pallets and connectors disclosed in these patents and Applications have been highly successful. In an effort to improve thereon, to reduce the cost and weight of the pallets and to increase strength yet not decrease durability, the pallet of the present invention was developed. The present pallet is useful in material handling and designed for use with forklift equipment.